


The Basment

by the_ghostwriter96



Series: The Basement [1]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Child Neglect, Cinderella - Freeform, Disney References, Happy Ending, M/M, Pompous Pep, The little mermaid - Freeform, aladdin - Freeform, frozen, mulan - Freeform, tangled
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-07 23:48:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18883786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_ghostwriter96/pseuds/the_ghostwriter96
Summary: Danny's parents have kept him locked away in their basement for his entire life, to make sure he didn't hurt anyone with the powers he was born with... right? Danny is a monster, and he knows he's a monster, but when they introduce him to Vlad, he finds someone that doesn't make him feel like one.Not exACTLy pompep, but kind of?





	The Basment

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm not sure if this is even good- I kind of forced myself to write the last few hundred words and the whole thing was kind of just self indulgence. I hope you enjoy it regardless! Please let me know what you think.

Boredom was the default, here, in the basement. The lights were dim, even with the extra lamp they had plugged in beside the couch. There was a TV, but he only really watched tapes of Disney movies. And he’d seen all of those, _so_ many times- maybe his parents would bring him some new movies. Danny had asked, after all. In the meantime, he’d spend his time with The Little Mermaid on repeat, and moving through the room from the couch, to the bed, to the little table with four chairs his parents had set up for when they ate downstairs with him.

Sure, there were books to read. He’d already read them, though, and he wasn’t big on reading to begin with. And sure, sure, there were art supplies (crayons) and some toys (alphabet-learning toys)- but nothing new, not in so long, and god he was so _bored_. He knew he shouldn’t be so ungrateful for what he had. His parents had explained it to him- anyone else would have locked him in a cell with _nothing_. Maybe a cold, hard bed to sleep on. And they would test him, too, which was bad enough, but they’d also ‘experiment’ and use his abilities against him. Or they’d use him as a weapon and make him hurt people.

Really, he appreciated what they did for him. He was safe here, things were calm and safe, he kept it clean, and every now and then his family would visit. He especially liked when it was Jazz, because she would sneak him candy or other sweets and once, she brought him a new movie. The Little Mermaid; his parents hadn’t noticed the new VHS tape, and it was the only one that didn’t have lines on the screen when he watched it. That was at least a hundred nights ago, though…

Every now and then he’d start counting the nights, but the higher the number the less he cared and eventually he’d drop the commitment and go back to daydreaming. Daydreaming of himself in the place of the princesses in the movies, and someone coming to rescue _him_ from the eternal boredom that was the basement. He’d never, _ever_ tell his parents, but he so, so badly wanted to leave. He so badly wanted to go out into the world and see for himself what it was like.

Was it like the movies? In The Little Mermaid, was the ocean like the basement, and the world like… the real world? Or was it big and scary and bad like the way his parents told him it was? How could a world so bad have stories and movies like these? Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, all of them; sure, there were bad guys, but they _lost_ and Danny was sure, he was _sure_ that if he ran into any bad guys, they would lose, too. His parents would protect him, right? And as long as he didn’t let anyone know he was a monster, they wouldn’t even know they needed to do the tests and experiments, right?

“Danny,” Someone called from the top of the stairs, and Danny frowned at the screen from where he sat on the couch. “Are you hungry? We brought McDonald’s,” It was his mom, and she sounded… different. Almost like the way she’d sound before the tests, like she felt bad that it was time for them again.

“Yeah.” He replied, standing up to turn off the TV. The basement was small, just big enough for all the furniture and enough room to move from place to place, plus the little bathroom they had installed so he wouldn’t have to go all the way upstairs when he needed to go. “Are you gonna eat with me?”

“Yes, dear, we need to talk to you.” Oh. So, time for the tests, or new tests. It wasn’t something good, probably, judging by her tone.

His mother- Maddie- was exactly what he always thought a mother would be like if the princesses had them in the movies. Not evil, wicked step moms, but actual moms. She was pretty, with red lips and bright eyes and pretty red hair. She was sweet, and held his hand during the parts of the test that hurt. His father- Jack- wasn’t so… movie-like. He was sillier, and always made Danny laugh even if it wasn’t on purpose. He was big, and huge, and had black hair like Danny.

Gathered at the table, with a missing place for Jazz, Danny ate his fries with ketchup and stared down at the burger they’d gotten him. He didn’t eat much. They knew that, but they still always got him so much food. They always said they could ‘save it for later’ but it didn’t taste as good anymore once they brought it back down for him. It was always cold in the middle, or the mayonnaise tasted weird. Besides, he really just liked fries.

Partway through the meal, Danny’s mother cleared her throat and Danny sat up straighter, raising his eyes from his fries to her. When she didn’t say anything right away, he looked between her and Jack, confused; what was this about? They didn’t look upset, exactly, more like… nervous.

“So, Daniel, your father and I have this friend…”

“Vladdy! V-man, he hunts ghosts, just like us!”

“Vlad,” Maddie corrected, without taking her eyes off Danny. Like she was studying his face for his reaction. “And we… told him about you.” She said it gently, in such a soft way that he was sure he knew what was coming and panic began to set in.

They told him about Danny. He knows. He told the bad guys, who want to do experiments, and now everyone knows that Danny is a monster, _everyone_ and Danny is going to be taken away and they’re going to hurt him, he’ll never see his family again and that’s why his parents brought him McDonald’s, he’ll never get to eat it again, he’ll just be in a cold cell with no bed and no toys and no movies and no Jazz-

“Danny!” Maddie’s voice interrupted his thoughts, sharp and clear and he realized he had teared up. He wasn’t crying, not quite, but he could feel himself on the verge of it. “It’s okay, he’s not going to tell anyone. We trust him, so you should trust him, too. Okay?”

“The V-man’s a good guy, we knew him back in college and now he wants to help us remove your ghost.”

“And then you’ll get to come upstairs, and go to school like a normal boy. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

And it was decided, without him, that that’s what he wanted. The next couple of days were busy getting everything ready. He wasn’t sure why they brought him a dresser full of new clothes. The ones he had were a little tight, but they still fit. And he didn’t understand why they took his toys away and gave him new ones, or why they set up TV channels on his TV, or why they cut his hair or why they brought him a DVD player and a bunch of DVDs- they had to show him how to use it, too. Plus, they were making sure he ate more often than before.

It was all sudden, and new, and it made him nervous. Why did they have to do all that before their friend came to see him? Why did things have to be different from before? It was a welcome change, and a scary one. Welcome, because new toys, and new channels and new movies and new clothes, but it was scary because it felt like it was all leading up to something huge. Some big event that he didn’t feel ready for.

Honestly, Danny could remember the last time he met a stranger. He was very, very small, because everyone around him seemed giant. They were at a supermarket, at the vegetables, and a woman in a dress knelt down beside him and talked to him. She waved her fingers in his face and it scared him, and he started to cry. Next thing he knew, there were vegetables on the floor, the woman was looking at him like he was a monster, and his mother scooped him up and they were on their way home.

There were no more supermarkets, after that. No more strangers. But now… maybe not a stranger to Jack and Maddie, but a stranger to Danny, nonetheless.

It was the day of, finally. Jack had told him that morning that they’d come around the afternoon with lunch, and to make sure the basement was picked up. He didn’t know when afternoon would be, so after he put together the pieces of the rocket toy his parents had brought him, he put it on top of his dresser and that was picked up- he didn’t make messes, typically.

Then, he settled on the couch with one of the new movies playing on the screen. Throughout this one, he felt weird, watching it. Bad, almost, in a way that he couldn’t place. It was… about a princess, who was taken as a baby and locked in a tower because she had magical hair. That was a silly storyline, but it made him feel uncomfortable. _He_ was locked away, too. Not because his parents wanted to use his power, but because he was a monster-ghost-boy with monster-ghost-boy powers, and he needed to be kept away from people.

In the end, she escaped, after a handsome prince came along and she convinced him to take her to ‘see the lights’. Danny… Danny would never, _ever_ tell his parents, not in one million years, but the movie just made him sad because _he_ didn’t have a handsome prince to rescue him, and like him despite his powers, and take him away from the basement. And he was so, so bored with the basement, just like Rapunzel was bored in her tower.

The difference was that his parents wanted to protect him. The witch-mother in Rapunzel just wanted to keep her from discovering she was really a princess. Danny knew for sure, he was not secretly a prince.

Credits were rolling when footsteps began down the stairs, and Danny stood quickly to turn the TV off before they reached the floor. Somehow, it made him uneasy to think of his parents knowing what he was watching, and worse, he felt guilty for feeling that way when they were doing so much to protect him…

Vlad- it must have been Vlad, who else would it have been?- was last come around the wall from the stairs. First Maddie, who was smiling tightly over her shoulder, and then Jack, who was beaming at Danny, and then… Vlad.

A tall (not as tall as Jack, but still tall) man, with sharp features. Sharp cheekbones, sharp, blue eyes, and long hair and a long, sharp nose and chin hair and _wow_. Danny had never seen someone that looked like him, and he was wearing a suit and tie. He looked important, and elegant, and a bunch of other things that Danny didn’t have the vocabulary to express even in his own mind.

His eyes met Danny’s, and held them, widening slightly and Danny wondered, at what? Was it the new haircut? Danny could barely see it, since the mirror in the bathroom was so high above the sink. Maybe it looked weird? Or maybe it was something else. He dropped his gaze down to his clothes, to make sure he wasn’t wearing anything weird, but no; jeans and a t-shirt and normal white socks, none of them had holes in them and his parents didn’t tell him to dress up or anything, so it was fine, right?

But when Danny met his eyes again, his expression was completely blank. He opened his mouth to speak, to say hello or introduce himself, but it had been so many years since he’d spoken to anyone besides his parents, Jazz or a character on a movie he wasn’t sure exactly how to do it. The words died in his throat and he closed his mouth again.

After a second of silence, Maddie must have realized that neither of them were planning to speak, so she smiled that tight-lipped smile and stepped to the side, motioning one hand towards Danny and one towards Vlad. “Danny, this is our friend, Vlad. Vlad, this is our son, Danny.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Vlad smiled politely, so Danny returned the gesture. “Is Danny short for-“

“Daniel.” Danny nodded, surprised by the way his own voice seemed so frail. Like it would crack and break off into silence at any moment.

“What’s the matter, Danny-boy? Cat got your tongue?” Jack laughed, and Danny felt a little more at ease. His mother’s smile was fake, Vlad’s smile seemed the same, but Jack’s was genuine and some of the tension melted away.

Danny breathed a laugh. “I’m-“ When he started speaking this time, his voice was stronger… until he caught Vlad’s gaze again, and faltered. He couldn’t tell what the man was thinking. He wasn’t like Danny’s mother, or father, where he could read their expressions to know what was going on. It was like Vlad was _rehearsed_. He didn’t feel sincere, and his smile didn’t meet his eyes. “Hi,” He said, after a moment.

Another pause, and then Maddie was talking, leading Vlad around the basement. “…and this is where we eat together,” But why was she making it sound like they spent so much time together, all the time, down there? They didn’t. They barely ate together anymore. “He has his own bathroom down here, don’t you, Danny?” She flashed a smile at him and he nodded, but the more that they went on the more confused he felt. “And cable, and movies.”

“Do you like movies, Daniel?”

He didn’t know what he’d been expecting out of this, but it wasn’t this. It wasn’t everyone focusing on his room, and what stuff he had, and the change of topic was a welcome one because at least with this he knew what to say. “Yeah!” Danny lit up. “Disney is my favorite, I’ve seen all the ones I have a bunch of times. Except the new ones, I only watched one of those. I like The Little Mermaid.”

“Do you?” This time, Vlad’s expression seemed gentler. Softer, and less blank. Kind-ish. “Do you like the songs?”

“Yeah! Yeah, I know all the words.”

“That’s impressive.” And finally, a real smile.

“Why don’t we watch it tonight?” Maddie suggested, sounding flustered although Danny couldn’t place why. “We can play it while we eat.”

“I can’t watch the tapes anymore, just DVDs.” Danny reminded her. “And it’s not on a DVD.”

“I’ll bring it on DVD for you next time I see you. Does that sound alright?”

Danny, again, lit up.

…

The next few visits went about the same, if not less awkward than the first. Everyone seemed a little more relaxed the next time Vlad came down the stairs, and because of that, Danny felt more relaxed, too- plus the fact that they typically just watched movies together helped. The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Mulan and Aladdin; all movies that Vlad had brought for him over the course of his visits.

They would eat together, too. Pizza, or McDonald’s, or other places that tasted great but that Danny had never eaten from before, plus any time someone decided to cook. He liked food from places, but he liked when people cooked, too. It reminded him of the families he saw on TV, where they all ate a home-cooked meal together at the table. The only thing was, Jazz didn’t join them, so it wasn’t complete. As far as Danny was concerned, though, it wouldn’t be the same without Vlad.

Vlad… tall, nice, fancy, with pretty hair and pretty eyes and impossible to read except when he was smiling Vlad. And wow, did he have such a nice smile. Charming, like Prince Charming’s. And the way he always wore a suit, and his attitude and his mannerisms… he was like a real prince, and every time he came by Danny couldn’t help but feel excited. He’d sit beside Vlad at the table on purpose, he’d sit beside him on the couch when they watched movies, and at night, he’d lay in bed and think about him.

He’d think about his pretty eyes, and how his hands felt electric when they touched Danny’s, when they both reached for the salt or when he handed Danny a new movie. He’d think about the way Vlad looked at him, such a soft, gentle expression that Danny didn’t know what it meant. It was almost sad, but not quite, and Danny had never seen that from his parents, so he didn’t understand it. He’d think about the way he stood, so tall, and elegant, just like royalty, and about the way he moved like he knew exactly what he wanted to do. He wasn’t clumsy, like Danny or Jack.

Danny thought of those things as he sat in the chair at the table, the fingers of his free hand curled into his shirt as he stared down at the empty table. His stomach clenched and churned, and the IV in his arm that pumped the greenish, reddish blood from his veins stung, still, where it went in. Danny focused on his breathing, and the thoughts of how Vlad was prince-like rather than how disgusted he must be to see the green mixed in with his blood.

Proof that he was a monster. Proof that he was bad, and needed to be locked away, and _maybe_ Danny had let his mind wander to being rescued by Vlad, once or twice. _Maybe_ he’d thought about what life would be like, if Vlad swept him away from this basement, and this house. It was a nice thought, but now… Vlad would never take him away. Danny’s eyes and nose prickled with tears and he allowed himself a glance upwards, to Vlad’s face.

Jack and Maddie were focused heavily on the machine that stole and separated Danny’s blood, and then pumped it back into his body clean, but Vlad met Danny’s eyes- and for once, his expression wasn’t unreadable. Danny could see exactly what was written across his face, in the way his eyes were wide, and the way his lips were parted and the way his eyebrows drew together: Vlad was disgusted. Horrified. Repulsed.

And the tears burned Danny’s eyes, but then Vlad shook his head, and his lips closed and he _smiled_ , a barely-there, barely-real smile, but Danny understood what it was supposed to mean and he felt relief as much as he felt sick to his stomach. Vlad wasn’t disgusted by _Danny_. So then…

Didn’t he understand? Didn’t he know these tests were necessary? That they had to do this, to try and clean his blood and get rid of his mutation? Didn’t he get that? Danny would just have to explain some time when his parents weren’t around. He’d have to make sure Vlad knew, that Vlad wouldn’t be mad at his parents, so that Vlad would still come around.

After the movie, that night, Danny watched his parents and Vlad ascend the stairs and from the bottom he said, “See you later?”

Vlad glanced over his shoulder, smiled at Danny softly, and said, “Of course, Daniel.”

…

Getting Vlad away from Jack and Maddie wasn’t difficult, though, as it turned out. One evening, Vlad came down on his own. “Your parents asked me to keep an eye on you while they go out of town for a weekend. I thought maybe you’d enjoy the company-“

“Yeah!” Danny jumped up, hands curled into excited fists as he refrained from hugging Vlad. He wanted to, he really did, but what if Vlad didn’t like it? What if Vlad didn’t want to be hugged by someone like Danny? And if he knew about Danny’s fantasies, the ones about Vlad rescuing him… well, he definitely wouldn’t want a hug from Danny, after that, probably.

Without his parents there, somehow, Danny felt much more at ease. Like there was a heavy weight lifted from the room. Like he didn’t have to worry about what he said, or what he did. Vlad wasn’t like his parents, he wasn’t disgusted by him, or if he was he was pretending not to be. Danny didn’t feel like he had to stay calm _or else_ with just-Vlad.

Danny showed him the rocket toys that came in pieces that Danny had put together all by himself, and after he asked, Danny told him about all the books Danny kept in his nightstand that he didn’t really care for, but had read a couple of times anyway. He told him about the stories, the fairytales, and explained that they weren’t as interesting as the movies were and that a lot of times, the princess doesn’t even get rescued, so what was the point?

After that, Vlad left upstairs and came back a little while later with pizza, and as he fixed them both a plate to bring to the couch (where Danny wasn’t allowed to eat, normally, but Vlad promised he wouldn’t tell) Danny knelt before his stack of DVDs and tried to decide which one to watch. They’d watched most of them before, more than once. Really, there was only one they hadn’t seen and Danny picked up Tangled, staring down at it in his hands, stomach churning.

What if Vlad put two-and-two together and realized how Danny felt about it? What if he told Danny’s parents? What if- what if he realized Danny wanted to leave, and told him he never would? He _liked_ thinking about leaving with Vlad, even if it would never actually happen, and if Vlad told him that it would crush those daydreams and Danny… Danny really needed those, sometimes. The daydreams. They kept him from getting too bored, or too sad, and when he thought of someone like Vlad that _didn’t_ think he was a monster- it felt nice. He didn’t hate himself so much, when he thought like that.

“Everything alright, Daniel?”

Danny hesitated, and then slowly rose to his feet. “This is my favorite movie.” He explained, because he wasn’t a liar and because he wanted Vlad to understand. “But you can’t tell mom and dad about it, okay?”

And Vlad glanced at the DVD cover, and then back at Danny, and nodded shortly before sitting down on the couch. “I haven’t seen this one. Although I’m sure you know all the words to the songs, don’t you?” He smiled, as though Danny hadn’t asked him to keep a gigantic secret, as if Danny wasn’t doing something bad and it made him feel better.

“Yeah! I watch it every night, and sometimes I-“ He stopped, feeling his face getting hot and he took a silent breath to calm himself down.

“Sometimes you what?”

He turned around, cracking open the case to take the disc out and put it in the player. “Sometimes I sing, too.”

“Of course you do.” Vlad said, as if it were nothing silly at all. “Disney has a knack for making songs impossible to ignore.”

When Danny sat down beside Vlad, he sat just a little bit closer than he needed to. Not so close that they were touching, but close enough that he could feel the warmth from Vlad’s body. His own body longed for that, to feel that. The basement was always cold, and besides holding his hand every now and then during the tests, his parents barely touched him.

The movie began, and Danny’s nerves flared; Vlad would catch on, surely. He would connect the fact that like Rapunzel was bored, Danny was bored. He would connect that they both longed for freedom. He would-

But each time Danny looked at Vlad, the man’s expression was unreadable. He didn’t look angry, or upset at all, just… blank. Danny was so nervous that he couldn’t even focus on the movie, except for the songs when they came on and he got distracted by humming along with the lyrics. By the end of the movie, Danny was refusing to look at Vlad, just because he didn’t want to see that blank expression. He pulled his feet up onto the couch, setting his plate aside so he could bring his knees to his chest. What now?

“Daniel,” Vlad asked, a few moments after the credits had begun to roll. “Why is this your favorite movie?”

The way that he asked, by his tone of voice, Danny could tell he already knew. He’d figured it out. He shouldn’t have put the movie in. They should’ve watched something else, anything else, something that wouldn’t _mean_ so much. Danny could feel the beginnings of tears and he held them back, replacing his upset with anger. He felt angry, for the first time in a very, very long time and he glared at the floor, propping his chin on his legs.

“Are you gonna tell?”

“Tell what, exactly?”

Danny sniffed from where the start of tears had made his nose run, and shrugged.

“I certainly wouldn’t tell your parents anything that would get you into trouble.” At that, Danny looked at Vlad, frowning as some of the anger faded away. “I care about you.” And those words, so few and so simple made Danny’s stomach feel like it was flipping upside-down. “I have something I’d like to show you, in fact. Tomorrow. Would that be alright with you?”

Danny blinked, because- Vlad was coming back the next day? Instead of in a couple of weeks? “Yeah…” He breathed, because he felt weird. Light, airy, like he could float away because _Vlad cared about him_! Vlad cared about Danny, and Danny cared about Vlad, too.

Vlad left shortly after that, and Danny laid in bed, daydreaming about the man that cared about him. Cared about him despite the fact that Danny was a monster. Cared about him even though Danny was bad, and scary, and mutated, and even though his blood wasn’t clean and even though he’d _seen_ the blood with green goop in it. Vlad cared about him.

…

“Hey, little brother.” A girl’s called down the stairs the next morning, and Danny sat up in bed, confused. Jazz? Jazz hadn’t come around in _weeks_. “You awake?”

He kicked the blankets off, and ran across the room to the bottom of the stairs, nearly tripping over his own feet in the process. He caught the wall in time, and looked up at Jazz, grinning. “I am now,”

She smiled back, but Danny could see the way she looked away from him. He could see the way she was uncomfortable. No wonder she quit coming around; he was- he was a _ghost_ boy. A monster, inhuman. “I made pancakes, if you want some. I kind of- burned a couple, but-“

“Yeah.” He cut her off, and she seemed to hesitate for a moment before meeting his eyes again.

“Do you wanna come upstairs?”

“I’m not allowed upstairs.” He replied, out of habit, because that was a question she used to ask all the time, when they were younger, and he’d have to remind her. And… why would she invite him up there, anyway? She knew he wasn’t allowed, and besides, she could barely look at him. Why didn’t she just-

“Mom and dad aren’t here. I won’t tell, if you don’t.” She smiled again, but her eyebrows were drawn together and her smile was tight-lipped. “Come on. Pancakes!”

The thought of going upstairs made his heart race. He hadn’t been out of the basement in so, so many years. If he went now, it’d be like… he’d be- breaking the rules. And what if something happened? What if he got too excited, or too angry, and something bad happened? What if their parents came home early?

“Can’t you bring them down here?”

Another pause, and then, “Yeah, little brother. I can.”

…

When Danny flung himself across the room upon Vlad’s arrival, he’d been expecting and prepared to stop short; instead, Vlad stepped forward and Danny collided with him. Danny meant to step back, and apologize, but Vlad’s arms were around his shoulders instead, _hugging him_ and Danny hugged him back immediately. He closed his eyes, pressing his cheek against Vlad’s chest and let the warmth comfort him. He’d been so nervous, so worried that Vlad wasn’t going to come back when he hadn’t showed up the day before like they’d planned.

But now, here he was. There, real, _hugging_ Danny in a way that he hadn’t been hugged since he was small. Eventually, the affection, the “I love you”s before bed, the spending time together- it all just slowly faded away into the background, replaced by the tests and being hungry in between meals and watching movies alone. Now that he was feeling this again, the closeness of another person, Danny realized how much he’d _missed it_.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t make it yesterday. I had to go into work for a short time, and a short time became a long time before I realized it. I apologize.” Vlad’s explanation didn’t matter to Danny. Not really. What mattered was that he was here, and god, Danny was so happy, he was _so happy_ and this felt _so nice_ and he realized almost too soon that his feet weren’t on the ground.

And it wasn’t because Vlad was lifting him up; it was because he was happy. He was floating, literally, on his feelings. As soon as he realized his feet hit the ground and his heart sank to the floor- but when he looked up, Vlad wasn’t afraid of him. He was wide-eyed, sure, and almost looked stunned, but he wasn’t afraid or angry and he didn’t look particularly grossed-out either.

In fact, he didn’t mention it at all, clearing his throat instead and stepping back enough to show Danny something he had in his hand. “I brought this for you. I thought you might like it. Are you hungry? I could order us-“

“I already ate.” That morning, he’d had pancakes. “Can we watch it now?” He asked, taking it from Vlad and almost jumping in place with excitement. A new movie, and this one was from _Vlad_ , this one was _special_. “Please?”

“Of course.” Vlad smiled at him, a soft, warm smile, and he really, really didn’t think Danny was bad? He really wasn’t scared that Danny could fly up off the ground? That Danny had green goop in his blood? It really didn’t bother him at all? “I’d heard of this one from my niece, and it sounded like something you would enjoy. Make sure you pay attention, alright?”

From the very beginning, Danny knew that Vlad chose this movie for a reason. Just like Danny liked Tangled for a reason, Vlad knew that, and picked Frozen for a reason. It was about a girl, with magic powers who had to be locked away so she didn’t hurt anyone- just like Danny. As the movie went on, Danny was pretty sure the moral of the story was that Danny _was_ a monster. He was dangerous, and scary and bad, and he could hurt someone just like Elsa hurt her sister.

But the Elsa was far, far away from everyone. And she was singing, and using her powers however she wanted to use them, and doing whatever she wanted to do, and- and- and Danny was crying, and he definitely had a new favorite song. He wiped his eyes with the palms of his hands; hiding best he could that tears had begun to fall. It didn’t do any good to hide, though, because Vlad’s hand rest on top of Danny’s head, fingers threading gently through his hair.

Neither of them spoke, and the movie went on, and on… and again, Elsa hurt her sister and Danny was convinced again that no matter what, no matter where he went, he would hurt people. He wasn’t safe to be around, and in the back of his mind the thought occurred that maybe Vlad shouldn’t be there with him. That maybe Vlad wasn’t safe, being there with Danny. That maybe nobody should be around him: what would happen if he got too upset, or too angry, and he accidentally…

But then the ending came, and everything was okay. Elsa’s sister was okay, and Elsa was happy, and the bad guys were going away and Danny felt like crying again but he wasn’t entirely sure why. Would he ever leave the basement, the way Rapunzel left the tower and the way Elsa left the room? Would he ever be free, that way? The way they were free? Or was he stuck here, forever? Was he dangerous, or was he like Elsa? He didn’t understand anymore, the way that he thought he did, what the point of the movie was. He wasn’t sure why Vlad showed it to him.

The credits rolled on the screen, and the two sat in silence for a moment. Danny swallowed his emotions thickly, and then stood up, moving to the TV to turn it off. He didn’t sit back down. He didn’t turn around, either. He just started picking at his thumbnail, and asked, “Why did you show me that movie?”

“I thought you might like it. Was I wrong?”

Danny swallowed again, and this time, his throat hurt, tight with emotion that he didn’t understand. “No,”

“What did you like about it? Can you tell me?”

“No.”

“I won’t tell anyone. Anyone at all. I’m your friend, Daniel.”

Danny dropped his hands to his sides and turned around. He wanted to believe this was something more than a conversation. He wanted to hope, but- was he wrong, for that? Was he bad, or worse than he knew he was, for it? And these were just… movies, anyway. People didn’t _really_ get rescued. And there was nothing to rescue Danny from, anyway. He was here to protect people. He couldn’t even control himself when he was happy, let alone when he was scared, or angry. He’d hurt someone, if he left. That’s why he was here to begin with.

“I liked- all of it. I liked the song.”

“Which one?” Vlad asked, but the way he was smiling said he already knew and Danny couldn’t help but smile too, a little.

“The ‘Let it Go’ one.”

“Do you think you could keep a secret, too, Daniel? Like the ones I’m keeping for you?”

His smile faded, but he nodded his head yes, anyway. He’d always kept secrets from his family. He’d kept from them how much he wanted to leave, he kept from them his daydreams, his fantasies, his thoughts. He didn’t tell them how sometimes, at night, in the dark, he would play with the glowing stuff that he could make with his hands. The green, glowing light that would disappear when he wanted it to, leaving no trace behind except a tingly feeling in his fingers. He could keep another.

Vlad, for the first time, looked uncertain. “Do you promise? Promise me, Daniel.”

“I promise,” And he meant it, too. Danny didn’t even realize he’d gotten closer, but Vlad was lightly pulling him onto the couch. He pulled his legs up, crossing them as he turned to face Vlad. “What is it?”

Vlad studied Danny’s face, lingering on his eyes, and then he raised his hands up between them, palms-up. Danny looked at them, and then at Vlad, and hesitantly, he touched them with his own. Vlad’s fingers closed around his hands and the man smiled at him. A soft, genuine smile, though hesitant and uncertain. “Daniel, you are not alone.”

And then, from Vlad’s middle, two rings of black erupted and parted in two, one moving up and one moving down to engulf him. Danny panicked, ripping his hands from Vlad’s and scrambling back against the arm of the couch. The rings _changed_ Vlad. His suit from black to white, his hair from white to black, his eyes from blue to completely red, and his skin from white to _blue_. 

Before his eyes, Vlad changed from a prince into a- a ghost. A _monster_.

Danny moved back, further and further up the arm of the couch until he fell over the back of it, hitting the ground with a thud and a grunt. Then he pushed himself to his feet and turned, to run up the stairs, to get Jazz, to warn her so that she could get away but Vlad caught him by the arm.

“Let _go_!” He all but screamed before a hand clamped over his mouth.

In his ear, Vlad’s voice was firm and commanding, and comforting in the way that it was familiar where Vlad’s appearance no longer was. “Do you think that I’d hurt you, Daniel? I thought that you would be relieved to know that you’re not alone-“

Danny twisted from Vlad’s grasp so hard that he fell onto his butt, glaring up at Vlad. “I am a _monster_!” He snapped, hands in fists against the floor. “And so are you!”

“You are not.” Vlad knelt down, his new form even taller, and more imposing than his human form. “Your parents have lied to you, they-“

“Shut up!” Danny raised his voice again, anger rising. He _knew_ Vlad was lying. Vlad wasn’t the prince, he was the bad guy. He was like Rapunzel’s mother, or maybe he _was_ a prince; maybe he was like the prince in Frozen. “Shut up shut up!” The lights on the ceiling flickered, and Danny looked up, eyes wide as he realized what he was doing. “Get out of here.” He whispered, pulling his knees to his chest. He couldn’t control himself, if he was angry.

“Do you know why they take your blood every few weeks, Daniel? Do you?” Vlad’s tone was urgent, somehow, though soft.

“For- tests, and they’re trying to clean my blood so I won’t be like this anymore. So I can go to school and have friends and-“

“They’re using the ectoplasm in your blood to power their ghost weapons.”

The lights grew brighter until suddenly they _popped_ and the room was blanketed in darkness. Danny paid no attention to that, though. His mind was busy making comparisons between what Vlad had said and Tangled, and Frozen, and for some reason he felt nauseous. His hands and chest felt icy cold, and he was sweating. Was what Vlad said true? Were they really taking his blood to get the ect- the ecto… the green stuff out, for weapons? Danny knew they hunted ghosts, and that they made and sold weapons so other people could hunt them too, but… could Vlad be telling the truth?

If he _was_ telling the truth, was Danny’s entire life a lie? “How do I know?” He asked, his voice soft in the dark. “Show me.”

“I’ll show you. Come with me, and I’ll show you.”

Danny realized, for the first time, that the lights had gone out but he hardly registered what he was doing when he brought his hand up between them and illuminated their figures with green, glowing light. Vlad’s expression was awe, staring at Danny’s hand like it was something incredible and like Danny wasn’t breaking the rules, like he wasn’t doing something bad by helping them see-

And then red joined the green, and the resulting color wasn’t that pretty, but Danny’s expression matched Vlad’s. They really were the same… despite the blue skin and red eyes that shone through the shadows, they were the same. And Danny thought of leaving, or seeing the real world, however scary. He thought of being rescued, by a prince that knew how to control his powers- he had to know, right? If he was a grown up, and didn’t hurt anyone. He had to know to get this far without being locked up somewhere, right?

“You can control it?” Danny asked, and Vlad nodded, his expression blatantly hopeful.

“I can teach you how. And there are ways to suppress your powers in the meantime. Please, Daniel. Come with me. Let me take you away from here.”

“I’m _bad_ , I’m a _monster_.” Danny was almost pleading with him. His entire life, a lie? And Vlad could show that to him, could prove it to him?

“You aren’t.” Why did Vlad’s voice have to be so calm, and comforting? “When your parents told me that they would show me where they harvested their ectoplasm, I was ecstatic that I may find a new source- I wasn’t expecting that the source was their _son_. A human being, locked away for their own selfish-“ He stopped, and then continued. “I played along so that I could find a chance to tell you, Daniel. I’ll take you away from here.”

“But they’ll… people will find out. They’ll hurt me, they’ll-“

“I’ll protect you. I’ll keep you safe, I’ll keep your powers suppressed- I’ll make sure you don’t hurt anyone. I promise. I promise, Daniel. Come with me. Let me take you from this place.”

And through the green, and the red, in the otherwise darkness, Danny reached his hand out towards Vlad’s own outstretched one. He paused, mid-air, fingers trembling and heart pounding at the very idea of going upstairs. Upstairs, for the first time in so many years. So many years he didn’t even know how long it had been, or how old he was. “Okay.” He breathed, and took Vlad’s hand, letting himself be pulled to his feet.

He was going to do it. He was going upstairs, he was leaving this basement, he was being rescued! He didn’t think about how his parents would come home to an empty basement, and he didn’t think about how Jazz might be sad he was gone (if she wasn’t just relieved), he didn’t think about anything except that he was getting out. Because if he did think about that stuff, he might change his mind, and stay in the basement forever.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always appreciated! <3


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